FL COVID: Nearly 10K Hospitalized, Record Cases Reported Saturday

FLORIDA — With COVID-19 cases continuing to increase in Florida, driven by the spread of the omicron variant, hospitalizations related to the virus are also on the rise.

The state is closing in on 10,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19 this week with 9,579 hospital admissions confirmed Monday, according to data provided by the Florida Hospital Association.

Florida has seen an 80.8 percent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past seven days and a 361.6 increase in the past 14 days, the agency said.

As of Monday, 21.5 percent of all Florida hospitalizations were related to COVID-19, while 19.5 percent of all intensive care unit patients had coronavirus, FHA added.

About 81 percent of all inpatient hospital beds in Florida were in use Tuesday, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows. With 242 hospitals reporting to the agency, 45,799 of 56,408 hospital beds are being used.

Meanwhile, the state broke another single-day reporting record with 77,156 cases reported for Saturday, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another 49,548 COVID-19 cases were reported for Sunday.

Last week, Florida ranked fifth among all states based on how fast coronavirus is spreading on a per-person basis, the Palm Beach Post said.

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The state saw just shy of 400,000 new cases reported from Dec. 31 to Jan. 6 and a 31.2 percent new case positivity rate, according to weekly data from the Florida Department of Health.

The best way for Florida residents to protect themselves during this current surge in cases is to get vaccinated against the virus, Dr. Manuel Gordillo, an infectious disease specialist with Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, said.

“We have learned that our current generation of COVID vaccines decrease the chances of getting infected manyfold. With omicron, a heavily mutated variant with about 30 changes in amino acids from the spike protein alone, this protection decreases after (three) months,” he wrote in a Facebook post Monday. “But (these) extraordinary vaccines still preserve their ability of protecting us from getting severe disease: hospitalization, ICU admission and deaths are still prevented at over (80 to 90 percent the) rate in most populations, even with omicron. And (third) doses, catch-ups or boosters, however you prefer to call them, strengthen this response across the board.”

Gordillo called vaccines “a huge win” for health care systems throughout the state, adding that “even though we are seeing a massive surge in cases because (of) omicron’s special ability to infect those with past immunity (with previous infections or with vaccines), we are seeing proportionally less admissions to ICU, need for ventilators or deaths.”

While there were fewer cases during the summer’s COVID-19 surge caused by the delta variant — less than 22,000 reported a day during its peak — the hospitalization rate was much higher, WUSF reported. About a week after the peak, there were more than 17,000 people hospitalized with coronavirus.

Those who are unvaccinated are more likely to require hospitalization during this current surge, Gordillo said, noting that in Miami-Dade County, unvaccinated COVID-19 patients have a hospital admission rate seven times higher than those who are vaccinated without the booster shot and 20 times higher than those who have received the booster.

As of Jan. 6, 14,963,166 Floridians — about 72 percent of those 5 and older who are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine —have received at least one vaccine dose, FDOH data shows.

Gordillo added, “I know this may be some reassurance to those that have gotten the vaccine but will not move those that have not. This is the world we are living today. Health care systems are under severe stress, health care workers exhausted, and we are yet to see the worst of it. We have lot to deal with, but this shall pass. Hope we can minimize the losses. Do not give up in our war against this virus.”